When I took over the show from Wally Burr, I wanted to change the voice of Wonder Woman, who was Shannon [Farnon]. Wally said “Shannon’s such a wonderful gal” and he had been directing her very butch. So I re-auditioned her and we kept her.

I named names (or he did) and he commented:

Jack Angel was a nice guy.

Bill Callaway was a good talent.

Michael Bell…I worked with him many times over at Marvel. There was something about Michael’s voice that registered strong, it kind of magically cut through. Occasionally caustic.

Frank Welker was another great talent.

Did you know much about the superheroes before you took the job?

We all knew about Superman and Wonder Woman.

Anecdotes?

The network wanted to audition more characters so I ended up with a cast of about 17 people. Bill Hanna came by and said why so many actors in there?

Would they all be in the studio at the same time?

They had a large studio there (at H-B). Sometimes they had to double up on the mikes but most of the time they had eight or nine mikes.

Photos?

I have the Scooby cast but not Super Friends.

Did you work exclusively in animation?

Yes, mostly at Hanna-Barbera and Marvel. Also commercials. Ended my career at Sony. Just before I retired there seemed to be a change in the humor in young people. More toilet humor.

Still active in the business?

I retired in 1998. I did fine arts for about seven years after I retired. Now just enjoying life.

2 comments:

First off, continued great posts every day. This is the 1st time I read the whole blog and not just the Bill Finger part. Nice work. Some other comments:

How does Bob Kane's family feel about what ur doing (or is that in your book)?

I will buy one of those shirts this year.

Hanna Barbera had a recording studio INSIDE the building? They didn't go to a studio like Batman: The Animated Series did? Oh man, if I had know I would have broken in there when the building was still standing and taken photos. Oh well that's how it goes.

Am gonna go visit Olan Soule's grave next month. I've been to Forest Lawn 3 times for Bob Kane and once for Stephen J Cannell (his was unmarked as of June). I never knew "Batman" was there too. Well time to make up for past mistakes. I finally saw the Batman tv episode where he appeared as a newscaster.

* Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman got multiple starred reviews and made the front page of USA Today.* Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman led to a TED talk; was covered by NPR's All Things Considered, Today Show, New York Times, Forbes; made best-of-the-year lists at USA Today, Washington Post, MTV.

Upcoming books:

* Thirty Minutes Over Oregon (nonfiction picture book about the unprecedented accomplishment of a Japanese WWII pilot)* The Chupacabra Ate the Candelabra (fiction picture book)* TBA 1* TBA 2

“[N]o library in the world could object to the book’s style and panache. [T]his is one biography that’s going to lure the kids like nothing else. More fun than any children’s biography has any right to be.”—A Fuse #8 Production (School Library Journal blog; four out of five stars)

“Fascinating.”—Horn Book

“Sure to become a classic example of the genre.”—Families Online

“Wonderful…young readers…will find this…title appealing and thereby ensure that future generations recall the amazing story behind Superman’s creation as well. Wait, did I say ‘recall’? Strike that—make it ‘will be inspired by’ instead. This book is that good.”—Firefox News

“[T]ouching... The illustrated section...is upbeat, entertaining, and informative...the [well-crafted] afterword shows the shadow side of the great American dream. ...Nobleman is equally adept at both stories.”—Boston Globe

“Surprisingly poignant.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Haunting.”—Geek Monthly

“Excellent.”—GeekDad (a WIRED blog)

“A-minus.”—A.V. Club (the entertainment review arm of The Onion)

“The best and most accurate depiction of their lives in print.”—Brad Ricca, documentary filmmaker, Last Son

“Engrossing...wonderful.”—Scripps Howard News Service

“I was completely mesmerized by this book from the first instant I opened it. I loved every page, and every word. Boys of Steel transported me; it made me feel young; it moved me to tears. Honest to God, it did! It caused my black heart to melt. The book is absolutely fantastic, the book is tremendous, the book is a huge achievement.”—Robby Reed, DIAL B for BLOG